It took till the ultimate day of the season, however the Minnesota Twins are the champions of the AL Central for the second straight season. And that’s solely half one of many AL Central chaos that wrapped up Sunday.

The Twins wanted a win or a Chicago White Sox loss on Sunday to lock up the division — they usually some some assist. The White Sox fell to the Chicago Cubs, 10-8, regardless of a livid late rally.

That’s excellent news for the Twins, who lock up both the No. 2 or No. three seed on the AL aspect of the postseason bracket, nevertheless it made issues extra sophisticated for the White Sox — who simply two weeks in the past had been the highest staff within the AL. Now they are going to face a harder street as a wild-card staff and the No. 7 seed.

The Cleveland Indians beat the Pirates 8-6 on Sunday, pulling right into a tie with the White Sox for second place. The tiebreaker? To Cleveland. So the White Sox are nonetheless within the postseason, however will likely be a No. 7 seed as an alternative of a No. four seed (or the No. 1 seed they appeared able to seizing only a few weeks in the past).

Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins claimed their second straight AL Central title. (Photograph by Hannah Foslien/Getty Photographs)Extra

For Minnesota, it’s a formidable comeback that noticed them overcome a three-game deficit within the final week of the season. It’s additionally their eighth division championship for the reason that AL Central division was created in 1994.

Anticipate the AL Central chaos to roll proper into the postseason, as all three groups are available in with fascinating storylines:

The Twins, now with a greater pitching employees than final 12 months, will likely be trying to energy by way of the AL bracket (and hopefully keep away from the Yankees) for his or her first World Sequence journey since 1991, once they received all of it. First, they simply must win a sequence. The Twins have gone 0-6 in playoff sequence courting again to 2002. Total, Minnesota has misplaced 16 straight playoff video games.

The White Sox confirmed lots of promise with their younger and thrilling lineup — which incorporates Luis Robert, Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez. However after shedding seven of their final eight, that postseason pleasure has misplaced a few of its luster.

The Indians, who will now host the Yankees within the Wild Card Sequence, may very well be probably the most harmful of those groups. They’ve the strongest pitching within the AL, which may make up for the shortcomings of their lineup. Not many groups will wish to face Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco and Zach Plesac in a brief sequence.

No matter occurs within the AL playoffs, you possibly can anticipate these three groups to play an enormous half.

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